On a technical level, some parallels can be drawn between the Earth-Minbari War and the latter half of the Pacific War, in terms of the technological and numerical superiority of the Attackers and the dogged and to-the-death defense and high casualties of the Defenders.
this has got to be the BEST monolaugh I have evar heard in scifi, or anything, with more meaning about what it is to be who and what you are than the most historical, patriotic, or what ever movie or story, before or after, and the story, hopeless unlike so many other scifi where humans come out victorius for one reasone or another, yet not disparative like others (war of the worlds) not so much saying we're out mached, but rather what we would be like in those moments
@Dukoth Well, I think JMS's writing was absolutely masterful. It has opened up avenues of exploration, a friend of mine recently showed me Brian Cox/Scolar Visari's disturbingly amazing narratives in support of the Helgan in Killzone series, and I noted that without the green-light to stare into the abyss, JMS gave us, this might not have followed, B5, BSG and other shows like it proved that narrative allows us to explore the dark recesses of our character, hopefully learning as we go.
::sigh:: would that human nobility lived up to the high aspirations this show had for us. i don't deny we are a strong, courageous race, but hopelessly misguided. so many people willing to die for... what? nothing.
@oldfrend it's because we no longer have anything worth dieing for
all we have, all we've had for a long time, is each other
once upon a time someone called this planet eden, and hey, mabey it was at the time, but for us now this so called paradise has become a prison, for a child thats grown to big for the cradle, and is desperate to learn to walk
@Dukoth you misunderstand me, but maybe everybody does. there is almost nothing worth dying for, even less worth killing for, and that's always been the case. we throw away the lives of our loved ones far too easily when probably the most important cause of all is life itself.
all the myriad little conflicts we have are ultimately meaningless in the long run, but everybody is so busy standing up for... whatever... that they sight of what's truly important.
@oldfrend whats worth dieing for is up to the dieing to define, it's not wether you think it's worth dieing for, it's if that person does, so many people see a person die for a cause they don't believe in and think "what a waste of life", but it wasn't your life to give, it was their's, and they thought it was worth their life
There is also a great trilogy of novels by Peter David that covers Londo's years as Emperor. They are an excellent read. I could hear Peter Jurasik voice as a read Londo's dialogue. Vir also plays a large part of the story
@laxguy22655 i have seen B5 and DS9 both series have their merits. DS9 has a simpler single layered story line. Personally i prefer Babylon 5 which has a far more complex and multilayer ed storyline which makes it in my eyes more realistic. that being said Babylon 5 is a ground breaking series which did every visual exterior shot in CGI which was relatively new technology at the time which is a major achievement if you think about it.
You're heat cries for earth, for even though it was our mistake, we carried the burden like Atlas himself. They died fighting the impossible, and yet they still went out. The best of humanity, even in our darkest hour.
I'm not familiar with this show (Think I watched season 1 back in the day) but Londo looks older in this clip, so is this him in the future? And is he describing the extinction of Humanity?
@Uridien He's describing a war between Humanity and the Minbari that took place before the series. This scene is from a TV movie that was a prequel to the series.
@Uridien Londo is telling this story 20 years after becoming Emperor in season 5. If you watch season 3 episodes War without Time, you will see he is telling the story a couple hours before his death.
He is telling the story of the Earth Minbari War, that happened 10 years before Babylon 5. The end of the Earth Minbari war is what prompts the Babylon project to go forth.
@Uridien To elaborate a bit on Kettenring's response. This is from a TV movie framed in a setting placed many years after the events of the TV series. Londo is telling those two children and their nanny or mother (I don't recall it being made clear) about the Earth-Minbari war which predated (and set the foundation for) the TV series. Also, season 1 was pretty bad, but seasons 2, 3, and 4 were just amazing, while season 5 wasn't bad either.
@Taliesyn42 The novelization says it is his friend Ursa's, the one he killed in the duel, children though it makes no sense because they would be much older at the time he is telling them this story (18 years after Season 5).
the concept that humans could fight a race minimally 1,000 years more advanced then ours for 2 galactic years in this universe is Unnerving. The concept of the Earth force fleet 600 warships were brought to bare against their previous enemies and that an estimated 5,000 combat capable ships stood at the Battle of the Line, was impressive. But if you look at the size of the Warcruisers in comparison just to Babylon 5 in the show(shown in the 3rd season) the thought we could hold out like that....
A rosey vision of humanity to be sure. But the truth is far sadder. We lack the will to fight. We lack the dignity to endure discomfort for a greater cause. What should go out with a bang shrinks with a whimper. Hope springs eternal that will will once again learn to fight. But not yet I think.
@Lukos0036 Really? I come from the UK. My parents and grandparents endured 5 years worth of bombing, and over 10 years of extreme rationing living with the fear of Nazi Germany right at Britain's doorstep. They had the courage and dignity to not let the fear of bombing make them surrender or fear the end.
We only know what we can truly endure when its forced on us to do so.
@galenwolf The 2nd world war and the generation therein were different than today. Look around you at the self indulgent hipster generation and ask yourself if they have the fortitude to endure more than a missed episode of their favorite show. Maybe, but it's hard to imagine.
@galenwolf Amen... Let us hope no others have to endure such times ever again. Alas I fear that is a thought that will never come to fruition, yet perhaps; perhaps... In the study of humanity one can witness acts of selflessness and courage unlike no other in nature, yet sadly the other side of that coin one can find concentration camps, genocide, and so many other horrors. To be human is to live the contradiction that is us... One day I hope we'll eventually grown up...
A couple of years ago I went to Amazon and bought the CD for this episode JUST to get this piece of music heard in this clip. It still gives me chills just as it did back in the late 90s when I saw this TNT movie for the first time.
So-called sci fi fans can have their Firefly and Battlestar Galactica and hype those programs from now to eterniety. Give me the 90s with B5, DS9 and Space:Above and Beyond.
@Hibbs4Prez, those three shows were probably better written & with more depth all around than Star Wars or BG (impressive show but limited in scope.) I also like Firefly too since it reduces the scale of B5 to smaller but good show.
(cont.) Between Londo's erratic actions (attacking several fronts, at least from what their intel told them) and the races involved in the attack on CPrime keeping Sheridan out of the loop, he really didn't have much of a chance to stop it from happening.
Even after close to 15 years since this aired, it remains one of the most (if not the most) memorable scenes I have ever seen. The dialogue, cinematography, and music are blended together so seamlessly that it still gives me chills today. B5 had to be one of the most compelling stories to come out of 90's TV.
P.S. Anyone know the name and composer of the music? I have been trying to find it for years.
@Keihryon The composer of nearly all of the music used in the series, including the theme songs, the incidental music, excepting a few songs brought in whole, like 'The Rock Cried Out', is Christopher Franke. Franke is a German, and a member of the group Tangerine Dream, and continues to compose, I believe. The pilot movie also had a different composer, as I recall, but I don't recall his name.
@FalbertForester Yeah I can't seem to find that particular piece...And I used to have a Tangerine Dream cd and video...didn't know he was part of them...awesome.
(Spoiler warning, just in case): In the final season, one of the Shadows' proxy races, decided to try taking up the Shadows' mantle after they and the Vorlons left in the previous season. Instead of confronting them directly, they manipulated the Centauri into attacking other races. What you're basically looking at is the result of the other races taking the fight back to Centauri Prime.
@MiriOhki Here's a question.....While on Babylon 4 John Sheridan went 16 years into the future and saw the following: Centauri Prime in flames; Londo as emperor with a keeper attached to his neck; alcohol can incapacitate it; Londo telling him the "dark servants" of the Shadows came to Centauri Prime after he defeated the Shadows; he and Delenn are married and have a son, David. So why does Sheridan act like he remembers none of this throughout season 4 and 5 as very familiar things happen?
@44excalibur The only thing I can think of is that he never actually found out the real causes of what was happening. Justifiable in that he was only there for maybe a couple hours at the most and spent most of that time in a cell with Delenn, and Londo was either A: too pissed off at Sheridan failing him, or B: playing like he was too pissed off in order to keep his keeper placated, or more likely C: both. All Londo told him was that he won the war but didn't clean up afterwards. Lack of Intel.
@MiriOhki Or D: Sloppy writing from Straczynski for making Sheridan have selective amnesia where most other people would have been suspicious. The rebel on Mars with a keeper on him; the ships leaving Z'hadum after the Shadows left; Londo's repeated requests for alcohol during his visit to Sheridan and Delenn on Minbar; Sheridan going down to Centauri Prime and seeing the devestation left behind by the Drazi and Narn; And him not knowing Delenn could have a child was too much of a stretch.
Remember that Sheridan didn't know if that future was going to come true or had been averted. He probably assumed that Centrauri Prime looked that way due to something in the Vorlon-Shadow War. By the time he would have realized that it came about due to the actions of his alliance after the War, he was already bound by politics, rules and his promises.
@thewandering01 Ehhh, possibly. But I thought that too many things were happeing that were just too familiar and that a smart man like Sheridan would have recognized. I don't think he'd let rules and politics stop him from averting the future he saw. My problem is that he acted like he didn't remember seeing that future, to the point where I wanted to slap him. Especially when it came to the thing on Londo's neck, which Sheridan should have definitly remembered when Londo asked him for alcohol.
Centauri Prime is burning because the Drakh detonated hidden bombs in the capital. As this scene is playing, Vir Cotto and his allies are doing what they can to help and to drive the Drakh off Centauri Prime for good.
The Human spirit will always endure because of one reason - hope springs eternal. Even when the curtain drops, and the world is in flames, there will always be one little glimmer of light in the darkness.
Never surrender my friends - because hope never dies.
@spyderc85 Most likely not in the short term. I watched this National Geographic documentary called When Aliens Attack. In the event aliens come, human forces would be outmatched technologically. They ran thousands of simulations, and humanity loses in the short term. Increase the timeline though, and the story changes. Humanity wins. It is our home turf, and we win by becoming gorilla fighters. Like the Mojahadeem did to the Soviets. Low tech, against high tech.
@acer3573 Yea, i know i cant spell so well, my fault for having a Learning Disability. But yes, to win a war against a race with better tech, humanity must learn to fight an asymmetric war
@name887 All depends on the kind of war. The most likely scenario would be they come here for some resource we have, and they need. As they evolved on a different planet, they would most likely not wish to be exposed to earth diseases. It happened when the Europeans came to America and exposed Indians to Small Pox. Space travel is dangerous, but not as dangerous as a virus born on a different world.
@porpus99 I don't think they would come here for resources. They're an advance alien race, if they can travel the stars. Why would they need earth's resources in particular? There are 400 billion stars in the galaxy. I'm sure they could find the resource somewhere else.
@name887 Ahh, and there lies the golden question. You could get more metals and minerals from an asteroid in the asteroid belt then what has been mined on Earth. Water from ice moons, planets. Not to hard to find. So what does Earth have that we have not found any where else in our time searching the galaxy? So simple any one can miss it. Chlorophyll and Protein. In other words, food. These two things are the bases for survival of life as we know it.
@porpus99 But even then, wouldn't it be simpler find a life-sustaining planet that doesn't have sentient life? Something in the evolutionary stage of our earth maybe two million years ago? At least then they wouldn't have to go to war (even if they could beat us so easily). My personal hypothesis is that if an alien race finds us, it's simply think us to primitive to be worth their trouble, and move on without even making contact.
@name887 Same problem. Life is just to hard to create. It must meet certain conditions, or its just a barren rock. Earth exist in what scientist call the Goldie Lox Zone, meaning we are not to close or to far from the sun. In man kinds search for life, we have looked at thousands of stars, and only a handful have planets other then Gas Giants. Within those handful of stars with planets, only one meets the same criteria as Earth. Life sustaining planets as we know it are very very rare
@porpus99 Our planet-finding techniques have a long way to go. The reason we find mostly gas giants is because our equipment has trouble finding anything much smaller than that. There are 400 billion stars in the galaxy. Assume maybe one in a thousand has planets. That leaves 400 million. Now assume one in a thousand of those can support life. Still 400,000 stars out there with planets capable of supporting life.
@name887 I agree that our planet finding techniques have a long way to go, but there are ways around such things. I have seen them on The Universe. While i do not know the exact methods, i do know it has something to do with when the Planet passes in front of the Sun. The problem with this technique is that the light we get from those stars are thousands, if not millions, of years old. I believe in other world life, but i also know that intelligence evolves from a Predator.
@porpus99 When a planet passes in front of a star, the total light we see by that star is slightly reduced. We see this reduction of light, and know that something has passed in front of it. Based on the amount it has dropped and the general shape of the shadow , we are able to determine the size and orbit of the planet. You can see how this may not work so well for small, distant planets.
@name887 I actually found the episode of the Universe i saw this on. Basically scientist us the distance of the star, plus light to determine what kind of planet it is, and how far it is from its sun. Only recently have the found a planet within the Goldilocks Zone, the region where liquid water can possibly exist. The planet in question is orbiting the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 581. They are unable to tell if it has liquid water, but its right where it needs to be to have it.
@name887 Not only simpler, but more likely. Consider the Earth. 4.6 billion years old. Life, 3.8 billion. Multi-cellular life, a billion years ago. Mammals, about 200 million years ago. The genus Homo appeared about 2½ million years ago. Humans, about 200,000 years ago. Agriculture, maybe 15-20 thousand years. History, about 6000 years. Industrialization is about 200-250 years old and satellites being common in less than 50 years. Odds are, if you find life, it's gonna be unicellular.
@Vistico93 Yup.... Or we're all just fantasizing and its completely impossible to travel faster than light anyway, making this a moot point... I have a bit of Russian in me.
I'm fairly certain that anywhere unicellular life can exist, multicellular life can grow and thrive, eventually. Those unicellular organisms could grow, prosper, and evolve into something that utilises the molecules and conditions in it's environment to survive, and then release gasses that make it easier for other mutations to be successful. And there's literally a universe of possibilities out there for like, you never know what could exist. ^__^
@hkestal Well, technically, The Earth Alliance was never enemies with the Centauri. In fact, Earth and Centauri prime had a relative peace and friendship ever since their first contact.
@bluntman1138 Up till the alliance... And i don't even want to get into the shadow aspects. The Centauri people had to have felt some anger and betrayal at their abandonment by the Humans. You and i both know that some of them would have seen it that way... People will be people.
@Koshzor At the End of this movie, Londo tells his guards to wait one hour and bring the prisoners to him. His prisoners are Deleen and Sheridan.This is the point from Season 3 War without End part 2, when Sheridan is brought before Londo, and Londo lets him go. Immediatly after they leave, G'Kar steps from behind the Throne, and he and Londo, then choke each other to death.
Our race in general does have a stubborn pride and at time a twisted sense of honor. But the Minbari are just a jaded and self-centered as we. They thought it was correct to show their cards to show no deception and greet the EA task group in honor, but to us it was an obvious attack. I mean we still kill each other for fun in B5. So 1 mistake lead to another and we were almost made extinct, but we never gave up. Not even the Centauri wanted to piss off the Minbari. We won begruded respect
@Andrewcranky This wasnt after the Alliance attack, this take place years after the Alliance atacked the Centauri, and the Centauri become isolationists. This is a "Centauri Civil War". It is in quotations, because the war is being manipulated by the Drahk through Londo with the shadow symbiot.
@Andrewcranky PS. The story to the kids is being told right before Londo meets with "Past Sheridan" during the time jump, where he asks Sheridan to bring the Alliance to Centauri Prime and get rid of the Drahk, and lets Sheridan and Deleen go, this is also when Londo and G'Kar kill each other.
@Andrewcranky The Drakh were revealed by Centauri freedom fighters led by Vir . As retribution, the Drakh detonated the fusion bombs they had buried all across Centauri Prime as a response.
I miss this show :( so much more storys to be told(the first EA war, more fights from minbari war, wars that followed, continuing the crusade)...well who needs this when we got jersey shore right?
I watched this part so many times, I have lost count long ago. And it still chokes me up hearing him narrate, with this amazing music in the background. Magnificient storytelling.
I remember when I saw this as a teenager I would forever be a B5 fan. It was the high-water mark for "In the Beginning" and definitely a Top 10 moment for all of Babylon 5.
You know, I think Londo might be biased. Because, in the Minbari war, Humanity had to keep fighting, because it was that or die. Surrender wasn't an option, the Minbari ignored Earth's attempts to surrender. So was humanity "magnificent", or just desperate?
@notablegoat It was "maginficent" in the same way that Thermopyle, The Alamo, Cameron, Rorke's Drift and all the othe heroic last stands were magnificent.
@notablegoat What Londo was admiring, and what admirable in the examples I noted was the tenacity and courage shown by the defenders. The odds were hopeless, but they didn't give up. While desperation may be a factor (as mentioned by the Mimbari) it is also that they were determined to go down fighting.
We are and have been. In a war, if we're fighting for something we absolutely beleive is right, we can be "magnificent". These days, however, things worth fighting for don't seem to crop up that often...
@Earthpatriot117 That's ture, you have a point. And that's essentially what the humans in this video are doing, fighting for each other. So really, I guess the logical conclusion from this is that fighting for each other is the only "magnificent" cause.
This scene happens in 'Out of the Darkness' (book 3 of the legions of fire trilogy) of which the young centauri woman is a significant character. If you want to know what happens after series 5 ends (which you should 'cause it's awesome) definately try and find them on ebay or something.
@theg0dfathers War goes by another name: Natural Selection. The weak and those that refuse to fight will be wiped out by the strong and those willing to fight.
Correction. The speech is obviously a tale of the past. Looking out the window, Londo sees the devastation the Shadows brought to Centari Prime which was devastated by the Shadow war.
@MrTerrificII Oh fuck, what the series before you comment next time. It IS about Londo looking BACK on the past, but the destruction is NOT from the Shadows, it's from the allies OF the Shadows (one of which is manipulating Londo) that have burnt Centauri Prime 20 odd years after the end of the Shadow War.
"They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space!" Moral of the story, DON'T FUCK WITH HUMANITY!!!!!! if we can't spill your own blood, we will drown you in ours!
@PegasusViperTopGun62 Terrifyingly they swan through and kept coming, while our personal courage was impressive you're missing the point-our extinction was certain.
@PegasusViperTopGun62 And yet in the end it would not have been enough. We would have been wiped out save perhaps for a few struggling bands scattered across the stars.
Firefly and Babylon 5, two of the most awsome shows over but cursed with crappy networks
pearsonm957 4 days ago
Hear that, aliens?
Don't fuck with humans.
GarlicPudding 3 weeks ago
On a technical level, some parallels can be drawn between the Earth-Minbari War and the latter half of the Pacific War, in terms of the technological and numerical superiority of the Attackers and the dogged and to-the-death defense and high casualties of the Defenders.
kuribayashi84 3 weeks ago
wether a wisper or a bang, well face our ultimate destiny together
Dukoth 1 month ago
this has got to be the BEST monolaugh I have evar heard in scifi, or anything, with more meaning about what it is to be who and what you are than the most historical, patriotic, or what ever movie or story, before or after, and the story, hopeless unlike so many other scifi where humans come out victorius for one reasone or another, yet not disparative like others (war of the worlds) not so much saying we're out mached, but rather what we would be like in those moments
Dukoth 1 month ago
@Dukoth Well, I think JMS's writing was absolutely masterful. It has opened up avenues of exploration, a friend of mine recently showed me Brian Cox/Scolar Visari's disturbingly amazing narratives in support of the Helgan in Killzone series, and I noted that without the green-light to stare into the abyss, JMS gave us, this might not have followed, B5, BSG and other shows like it proved that narrative allows us to explore the dark recesses of our character, hopefully learning as we go.
proadmin1 1 month ago
::sigh:: would that human nobility lived up to the high aspirations this show had for us. i don't deny we are a strong, courageous race, but hopelessly misguided. so many people willing to die for... what? nothing.
oldfrend 1 month ago
@oldfrend it's because we no longer have anything worth dieing for
all we have, all we've had for a long time, is each other
once upon a time someone called this planet eden, and hey, mabey it was at the time, but for us now this so called paradise has become a prison, for a child thats grown to big for the cradle, and is desperate to learn to walk
Dukoth 1 month ago
@Dukoth you misunderstand me, but maybe everybody does. there is almost nothing worth dying for, even less worth killing for, and that's always been the case. we throw away the lives of our loved ones far too easily when probably the most important cause of all is life itself.
all the myriad little conflicts we have are ultimately meaningless in the long run, but everybody is so busy standing up for... whatever... that they sight of what's truly important.
oldfrend 1 month ago
@oldfrend whats worth dieing for is up to the dieing to define, it's not wether you think it's worth dieing for, it's if that person does, so many people see a person die for a cause they don't believe in and think "what a waste of life", but it wasn't your life to give, it was their's, and they thought it was worth their life
Dukoth 1 month ago 5
Can anyone tell me the name of the musicplaying in the backgorund?
samysasy419 1 month ago
There is also a great trilogy of novels by Peter David that covers Londo's years as Emperor. They are an excellent read. I could hear Peter Jurasik voice as a read Londo's dialogue. Vir also plays a large part of the story
dammitspock 1 month ago
3 people ran out of courage.
freehal 1 month ago 4
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@laxguy22655 i have seen B5 and DS9 both series have their merits. DS9 has a simpler single layered story line. Personally i prefer Babylon 5 which has a far more complex and multilayer ed storyline which makes it in my eyes more realistic. that being said Babylon 5 is a ground breaking series which did every visual exterior shot in CGI which was relatively new technology at the time which is a major achievement if you think about it.
Crusnik2000 2 months ago
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Crusnik2000 2 months ago
AHH
Vir
jesustonight 2 months ago in playlist Favorite videos
This is the best of humanity, after the worst of humanity. If you're heat doesn't melt, then you're a trekkie.
ScreamingTc 3 months ago
@ScreamingTc
I like both Star Trek and B5. And, oh yeah, Stargates and Firefly. I don't like Battlestar Galactica. What should I do with myself ?
AnteyPL 2 months ago
@AnteyPL I'm afraid seppuku is the only option.
Taliesyn42 2 months ago
@Taliesyn42
Actually, fans of BSG will opt to airlock me :P
AnteyPL 2 months ago
You're heat cries for earth, for even though it was our mistake, we carried the burden like Atlas himself. They died fighting the impossible, and yet they still went out. The best of humanity, even in our darkest hour.
ScreamingTc 3 months ago
Humanity! Fuck YAH!
Sunmocker 3 months ago
Anyone know where to get the background music?
DrDoom343 3 months ago
I'm not familiar with this show (Think I watched season 1 back in the day) but Londo looks older in this clip, so is this him in the future? And is he describing the extinction of Humanity?
Uridien 3 months ago
@Uridien He's describing a war between Humanity and the Minbari that took place before the series. This scene is from a TV movie that was a prequel to the series.
Kettenring 3 months ago
@Kettenring Chronologically this specific scene occures after the series, once Londa has become emporor
PapaSMURFFS 1 month ago in playlist Fav
@Uridien Londo is telling this story 20 years after becoming Emperor in season 5. If you watch season 3 episodes War without Time, you will see he is telling the story a couple hours before his death.
He is telling the story of the Earth Minbari War, that happened 10 years before Babylon 5. The end of the Earth Minbari war is what prompts the Babylon project to go forth.
bluntman1138 3 months ago
@Uridien To elaborate a bit on Kettenring's response. This is from a TV movie framed in a setting placed many years after the events of the TV series. Londo is telling those two children and their nanny or mother (I don't recall it being made clear) about the Earth-Minbari war which predated (and set the foundation for) the TV series. Also, season 1 was pretty bad, but seasons 2, 3, and 4 were just amazing, while season 5 wasn't bad either.
Taliesyn42 2 months ago
@Taliesyn42 The novelization says it is his friend Ursa's, the one he killed in the duel, children though it makes no sense because they would be much older at the time he is telling them this story (18 years after Season 5).
Fbueller129 2 months ago
@Fbueller129 Yeah, that is kind of ridiculous. I could see the woman taking care of them being Ursa's child, but not those two.
Taliesyn42 2 months ago
@Uridien
The scene takes place after the series, but talks about the war that took place before the series.
jfridy 2 months ago
the concept that humans could fight a race minimally 1,000 years more advanced then ours for 2 galactic years in this universe is Unnerving. The concept of the Earth force fleet 600 warships were brought to bare against their previous enemies and that an estimated 5,000 combat capable ships stood at the Battle of the Line, was impressive. But if you look at the size of the Warcruisers in comparison just to Babylon 5 in the show(shown in the 3rd season) the thought we could hold out like that....
jessemarcus 3 months ago
A rosey vision of humanity to be sure. But the truth is far sadder. We lack the will to fight. We lack the dignity to endure discomfort for a greater cause. What should go out with a bang shrinks with a whimper. Hope springs eternal that will will once again learn to fight. But not yet I think.
Lukos0036 4 months ago
@Lukos0036 Really? I come from the UK. My parents and grandparents endured 5 years worth of bombing, and over 10 years of extreme rationing living with the fear of Nazi Germany right at Britain's doorstep. They had the courage and dignity to not let the fear of bombing make them surrender or fear the end.
We only know what we can truly endure when its forced on us to do so.
galenwolf 4 months ago
@galenwolf The 2nd world war and the generation therein were different than today. Look around you at the self indulgent hipster generation and ask yourself if they have the fortitude to endure more than a missed episode of their favorite show. Maybe, but it's hard to imagine.
Lukos0036 4 months ago
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@Lukos0036 You have never been to Iraq.
mafuletrekkie 3 months ago
@galenwolf Amen... Let us hope no others have to endure such times ever again. Alas I fear that is a thought that will never come to fruition, yet perhaps; perhaps... In the study of humanity one can witness acts of selflessness and courage unlike no other in nature, yet sadly the other side of that coin one can find concentration camps, genocide, and so many other horrors. To be human is to live the contradiction that is us... One day I hope we'll eventually grown up...
nardigan 3 months ago
Did Franke do the music for this?
name887 4 months ago
@name887 : According to Wikipedia, yes.
Vistico93 4 months ago
The music for this scene kills me every time...
Vistico93 4 months ago
that minbari so obviously didnt stab that human
and imdb still refuses to aknowledge it
jesustonight 4 months ago in playlist jesustonight's favourites
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laxguy22655 4 months ago
Best scene of the movie......
NikKast1981 4 months ago
@NikKast1981 Absolutely the best scene in the movie.
Taliesyn42 4 months ago
anybody know who plays the pipe solo in the background of this clip??
taxibui 5 months ago
A couple of years ago I went to Amazon and bought the CD for this episode JUST to get this piece of music heard in this clip. It still gives me chills just as it did back in the late 90s when I saw this TNT movie for the first time.
So-called sci fi fans can have their Firefly and Battlestar Galactica and hype those programs from now to eterniety. Give me the 90s with B5, DS9 and Space:Above and Beyond.
Hibbs4Prez 5 months ago 11
@Hibbs4Prez Nicely said. Wish I had more to add, but there's nothing.
G3n7r0 5 months ago
@Hibbs4Prez
Actually, setting new BSG with DS9 or Firefly is downright insulting to later ones...
... actually, Firefly was one show that reminded me of great days of ST:TNG, B5.....
AnteyPL 2 months ago
@Hibbs4Prez
couldnt agree more
djdmmd73 2 months ago in playlist Favorite videos
@Hibbs4Prez, those three shows were probably better written & with more depth all around than Star Wars or BG (impressive show but limited in scope.) I also like Firefly too since it reduces the scale of B5 to smaller but good show.
Wolfen443 1 month ago
@Hibbs4Prez and seaquest dsv. and viper and the sentinel. What happened to cable.
Bobsagetisshaft 1 month ago
@Hibbs4Prez if it wasn't for babylon 5 there wouldn't have been ds9, sg1, battlesrtar firefly
whitemanstand72 1 month ago
@Hibbs4Prez B5 ranks among the best sci-fi. I do have to say though, my favorite of all time is still farscape.
SamusVSMC 4 weeks ago
@Hibbs4Prez I love B5, DS9 and Space Above and Beyond but what do you have against BSG?
BlueonGoldZ 3 weeks ago
i loved this show
but even my little boy asked why the minbari had only pretended to stab him
jesustonight 5 months ago in playlist jesustonight's Favourited Videos
I have to say, this monologue gave me chills the first time I watched this.
Taliesyn42 5 months ago
This brings tears to my eyes. This is what it means to be human. We never give up even in the face of our own deaths. We never give up...
smcneal057 5 months ago 12
@smcneal057
Never give up! NEVER SURRENDER!
thewildone 3 months ago
(cont.) Between Londo's erratic actions (attacking several fronts, at least from what their intel told them) and the races involved in the attack on CPrime keeping Sheridan out of the loop, he really didn't have much of a chance to stop it from happening.
MiriOhki 6 months ago
*sniffle* Thumbs up and faved!
Lerrinus 6 months ago
Even after close to 15 years since this aired, it remains one of the most (if not the most) memorable scenes I have ever seen. The dialogue, cinematography, and music are blended together so seamlessly that it still gives me chills today. B5 had to be one of the most compelling stories to come out of 90's TV.
P.S. Anyone know the name and composer of the music? I have been trying to find it for years.
Keihryon 6 months ago
@Keihryon The composer of nearly all of the music used in the series, including the theme songs, the incidental music, excepting a few songs brought in whole, like 'The Rock Cried Out', is Christopher Franke. Franke is a German, and a member of the group Tangerine Dream, and continues to compose, I believe. The pilot movie also had a different composer, as I recall, but I don't recall his name.
FalbertForester 6 months ago in playlist 2009 - 222 - Entertainments - 675 - Londo and Vir on Bab 5 -
@FalbertForester Yeah I can't seem to find that particular piece...And I used to have a Tangerine Dream cd and video...didn't know he was part of them...awesome.
Keihryon 6 months ago
@Keihryon I found it. It's the In the Beginning OST you can find it one youtube. It won't let me post the link.
Rogue284 6 months ago
The music is so beautiful...
MystofSilverymoon 6 months ago
what happened to his planet?
armymatt83 7 months ago
@armymatt83
(Spoiler warning, just in case): In the final season, one of the Shadows' proxy races, decided to try taking up the Shadows' mantle after they and the Vorlons left in the previous season. Instead of confronting them directly, they manipulated the Centauri into attacking other races. What you're basically looking at is the result of the other races taking the fight back to Centauri Prime.
MiriOhki 7 months ago
@MiriOhki Here's a question.....While on Babylon 4 John Sheridan went 16 years into the future and saw the following: Centauri Prime in flames; Londo as emperor with a keeper attached to his neck; alcohol can incapacitate it; Londo telling him the "dark servants" of the Shadows came to Centauri Prime after he defeated the Shadows; he and Delenn are married and have a son, David. So why does Sheridan act like he remembers none of this throughout season 4 and 5 as very familiar things happen?
44excalibur 6 months ago
@44excalibur The only thing I can think of is that he never actually found out the real causes of what was happening. Justifiable in that he was only there for maybe a couple hours at the most and spent most of that time in a cell with Delenn, and Londo was either A: too pissed off at Sheridan failing him, or B: playing like he was too pissed off in order to keep his keeper placated, or more likely C: both. All Londo told him was that he won the war but didn't clean up afterwards. Lack of Intel.
MiriOhki 6 months ago
@MiriOhki Or D: Sloppy writing from Straczynski for making Sheridan have selective amnesia where most other people would have been suspicious. The rebel on Mars with a keeper on him; the ships leaving Z'hadum after the Shadows left; Londo's repeated requests for alcohol during his visit to Sheridan and Delenn on Minbar; Sheridan going down to Centauri Prime and seeing the devestation left behind by the Drazi and Narn; And him not knowing Delenn could have a child was too much of a stretch.
44excalibur 6 months ago
@44excalibur
Remember that Sheridan didn't know if that future was going to come true or had been averted. He probably assumed that Centrauri Prime looked that way due to something in the Vorlon-Shadow War. By the time he would have realized that it came about due to the actions of his alliance after the War, he was already bound by politics, rules and his promises.
thewandering01 4 months ago
@thewandering01 Ehhh, possibly. But I thought that too many things were happeing that were just too familiar and that a smart man like Sheridan would have recognized. I don't think he'd let rules and politics stop him from averting the future he saw. My problem is that he acted like he didn't remember seeing that future, to the point where I wanted to slap him. Especially when it came to the thing on Londo's neck, which Sheridan should have definitly remembered when Londo asked him for alcohol.
44excalibur 4 months ago
@armymatt83
Centauri Prime is burning because the Drakh detonated hidden bombs in the capital. As this scene is playing, Vir Cotto and his allies are doing what they can to help and to drive the Drakh off Centauri Prime for good.
Nergalsama01 7 months ago
@armymatt83 The Narn and Drazi attacked it in retaliation for what they believed the Centauri had done.
mupptastic 6 months ago
yeah they would beat us back until the point it looked like we were done for and then we'd find some soft spot we could take advantage of
armymatt83 7 months ago
The Human spirit will always endure because of one reason - hope springs eternal. Even when the curtain drops, and the world is in flames, there will always be one little glimmer of light in the darkness.
Never surrender my friends - because hope never dies.
NicholasGeschke 7 months ago
@NicholasGeschke "In fearful day, in raging night,
with strong hearts full, our souls ignite.
When all seems lost in the war of light
Look to the stars for hope burns bright!"
Blue Lantern Oath. Just came to my mind when i read your post ;)
thedragon133 6 months ago
@thedragon133 Amen brother. I have to admit I also am a huge fan of the Blue Lantern Corps. :P
NicholasGeschke 6 months ago
Humans will always kick alien ass, just ask the aliens from independence day, Battle LA, War of the Worlds. We always win.
spyderc85 7 months ago
@spyderc85 except Skyline but that movie sucked!!!
darthhateful 7 months ago
@spyderc85 Most likely not in the short term. I watched this National Geographic documentary called When Aliens Attack. In the event aliens come, human forces would be outmatched technologically. They ran thousands of simulations, and humanity loses in the short term. Increase the timeline though, and the story changes. Humanity wins. It is our home turf, and we win by becoming gorilla fighters. Like the Mojahadeem did to the Soviets. Low tech, against high tech.
porpus99 7 months ago
@porpus99 Guerrilla :)
acer3573 7 months ago
@acer3573 Yea, i know i cant spell so well, my fault for having a Learning Disability. But yes, to win a war against a race with better tech, humanity must learn to fight an asymmetric war
porpus99 7 months ago
@porpus99 Unless they have a Vorlon Planet Killer, or Shadow Death Cloud.... THEN we're fucked.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 All depends on the kind of war. The most likely scenario would be they come here for some resource we have, and they need. As they evolved on a different planet, they would most likely not wish to be exposed to earth diseases. It happened when the Europeans came to America and exposed Indians to Small Pox. Space travel is dangerous, but not as dangerous as a virus born on a different world.
porpus99 4 months ago
@porpus99 I don't think they would come here for resources. They're an advance alien race, if they can travel the stars. Why would they need earth's resources in particular? There are 400 billion stars in the galaxy. I'm sure they could find the resource somewhere else.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 Ahh, and there lies the golden question. You could get more metals and minerals from an asteroid in the asteroid belt then what has been mined on Earth. Water from ice moons, planets. Not to hard to find. So what does Earth have that we have not found any where else in our time searching the galaxy? So simple any one can miss it. Chlorophyll and Protein. In other words, food. These two things are the bases for survival of life as we know it.
porpus99 4 months ago
@porpus99 But even then, wouldn't it be simpler find a life-sustaining planet that doesn't have sentient life? Something in the evolutionary stage of our earth maybe two million years ago? At least then they wouldn't have to go to war (even if they could beat us so easily). My personal hypothesis is that if an alien race finds us, it's simply think us to primitive to be worth their trouble, and move on without even making contact.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 Same problem. Life is just to hard to create. It must meet certain conditions, or its just a barren rock. Earth exist in what scientist call the Goldie Lox Zone, meaning we are not to close or to far from the sun. In man kinds search for life, we have looked at thousands of stars, and only a handful have planets other then Gas Giants. Within those handful of stars with planets, only one meets the same criteria as Earth. Life sustaining planets as we know it are very very rare
porpus99 4 months ago
@porpus99 Our planet-finding techniques have a long way to go. The reason we find mostly gas giants is because our equipment has trouble finding anything much smaller than that. There are 400 billion stars in the galaxy. Assume maybe one in a thousand has planets. That leaves 400 million. Now assume one in a thousand of those can support life. Still 400,000 stars out there with planets capable of supporting life.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 I agree that our planet finding techniques have a long way to go, but there are ways around such things. I have seen them on The Universe. While i do not know the exact methods, i do know it has something to do with when the Planet passes in front of the Sun. The problem with this technique is that the light we get from those stars are thousands, if not millions, of years old. I believe in other world life, but i also know that intelligence evolves from a Predator.
porpus99 4 months ago
@porpus99 When a planet passes in front of a star, the total light we see by that star is slightly reduced. We see this reduction of light, and know that something has passed in front of it. Based on the amount it has dropped and the general shape of the shadow , we are able to determine the size and orbit of the planet. You can see how this may not work so well for small, distant planets.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 I actually found the episode of the Universe i saw this on. Basically scientist us the distance of the star, plus light to determine what kind of planet it is, and how far it is from its sun. Only recently have the found a planet within the Goldilocks Zone, the region where liquid water can possibly exist. The planet in question is orbiting the nearby red dwarf star Gliese 581. They are unable to tell if it has liquid water, but its right where it needs to be to have it.
porpus99 4 months ago
@porpus99 Well, THIS turned into a much more intellectual conversation than I was expecting. That's cool to know, though.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 Not only simpler, but more likely. Consider the Earth. 4.6 billion years old. Life, 3.8 billion. Multi-cellular life, a billion years ago. Mammals, about 200 million years ago. The genus Homo appeared about 2½ million years ago. Humans, about 200,000 years ago. Agriculture, maybe 15-20 thousand years. History, about 6000 years. Industrialization is about 200-250 years old and satellites being common in less than 50 years. Odds are, if you find life, it's gonna be unicellular.
Vistico93 4 months ago
@Vistico93 Yup.... Or we're all just fantasizing and its completely impossible to travel faster than light anyway, making this a moot point... I have a bit of Russian in me.
name887 4 months ago
@name887 Perhaps but i think they will find a way somehow at least I hope so, I refuse to believe that
the only possible futures are a planetwide caliphate like the muslims want, or a devastated Earth like
the greens think, or a planetwide dicatorship under the rule of China like some doomsayers think.
MultiKronblom 4 months ago
@MultiKronblom Or the series of 500MT nuclear blasts kills us all like I think... Yeah, I hope you're right.
name887 4 months ago
@Vistico93
I'm fairly certain that anywhere unicellular life can exist, multicellular life can grow and thrive, eventually. Those unicellular organisms could grow, prosper, and evolve into something that utilises the molecules and conditions in it's environment to survive, and then release gasses that make it easier for other mutations to be successful. And there's literally a universe of possibilities out there for like, you never know what could exist. ^__^
InsurrectionistFungi 4 months ago
This scene makes me cry for earth.
Kunama1000 7 months ago 8
you know, that description would also apply to the UNSC fighting the Covenant in halo. I actualy almost cried at some parts.
McCbobbish 7 months ago
@McCbobbish agreed. I think Im gonna use this as a cameo speech in my Halo fan novel
TheTbrandon 7 months ago
@TheTbrandon
I actualy have seen it in a halo fanfic before! so when I heard it I was all like "So THATS where it came from!".
McCbobbish 7 months ago
@McCbobbish oh? cool. link to fic? or title of it? I want to check it out
TheTbrandon 7 months ago
@McCbobbish which fanfic?
dracowar 7 months ago
i gues lando mollari never heard about the french hhahahahahahaha
boogeyman664 8 months ago
Bagpipes done right makes this all the more epic.
themissncfan 8 months ago 2
@themissncfan
Those were bagpipes at the beginning?
Wow, that was an effective use, very emotional & haunting.
AWarWithoutEnd 8 months ago
What does it say about a people, when their enemy's praise their Courage, and Honor?
hkestal 8 months ago in playlist Random MV's
@hkestal Well, technically, The Earth Alliance was never enemies with the Centauri. In fact, Earth and Centauri prime had a relative peace and friendship ever since their first contact.
bluntman1138 8 months ago
@bluntman1138 Up till the alliance... And i don't even want to get into the shadow aspects. The Centauri people had to have felt some anger and betrayal at their abandonment by the Humans. You and i both know that some of them would have seen it that way... People will be people.
hkestal 8 months ago
Damn I don't remember this movie well. Is it last hours of Londo alive? I remember he was killed by G'kar but don't remember exactly when.
Koshzor 8 months ago
@Koshzor At the End of this movie, Londo tells his guards to wait one hour and bring the prisoners to him. His prisoners are Deleen and Sheridan.This is the point from Season 3 War without End part 2, when Sheridan is brought before Londo, and Londo lets him go. Immediatly after they leave, G'Kar steps from behind the Throne, and he and Londo, then choke each other to death.
bluntman1138 8 months ago
2 Minbari didn't like this.
freehal 8 months ago 3
@freehal
Warrior cast obviously...
nickwhitakerftw 8 months ago
Our race in general does have a stubborn pride and at time a twisted sense of honor. But the Minbari are just a jaded and self-centered as we. They thought it was correct to show their cards to show no deception and greet the EA task group in honor, but to us it was an obvious attack. I mean we still kill each other for fun in B5. So 1 mistake lead to another and we were almost made extinct, but we never gave up. Not even the Centauri wanted to piss off the Minbari. We won begruded respect
ExiledPiasa 9 months ago 3
How is that city still burning after what is supposedly years after the attack by the alience?
Andrewcranky 9 months ago
@Andrewcranky This wasnt after the Alliance attack, this take place years after the Alliance atacked the Centauri, and the Centauri become isolationists. This is a "Centauri Civil War". It is in quotations, because the war is being manipulated by the Drahk through Londo with the shadow symbiot.
bluntman1138 9 months ago
@Andrewcranky PS. The story to the kids is being told right before Londo meets with "Past Sheridan" during the time jump, where he asks Sheridan to bring the Alliance to Centauri Prime and get rid of the Drahk, and lets Sheridan and Deleen go, this is also when Londo and G'Kar kill each other.
bluntman1138 9 months ago
@Andrewcranky The Drakh were revealed by Centauri freedom fighters led by Vir . As retribution, the Drakh detonated the fusion bombs they had buried all across Centauri Prime as a response.
Fbueller129 9 months ago
@Fbueller129 Is that one of the things that is is covered in the books.
michaelhviper 9 months ago
@michaelhviper I believe so.
Fbueller129 9 months ago
"if iam going to die iam taking you with me!!"
willobi 9 months ago 3
Things our race sucks at:
1)politics
2)getting along
3)dying
Never easy and never without a fight.
angrydead 9 months ago 6
@angrydead Actually.. we're really good at dying.
piqueteer 9 months ago
Comment removed
willobi 10 months ago
Maybe we had more time to be bass since we don't spend 8 hours to get our hair done every day.
l0rf 10 months ago
I miss this show :( so much more storys to be told(the first EA war, more fights from minbari war, wars that followed, continuing the crusade)...well who needs this when we got jersey shore right?
geijin 10 months ago 17
I watched this part so many times, I have lost count long ago. And it still chokes me up hearing him narrate, with this amazing music in the background. Magnificient storytelling.
whoopsiedaisy69 10 months ago 2
I've seen In The Beginning, if I'd done what Londo had helped do in it, I think I'd stay drunk most of the time too
Zeruel3 10 months ago
@Zeruel3 That and the fact he had a mind controlling parasite on him and the only way he could keep it at bay was to be falling down drunk.
Martintheauthor 9 months ago
1 Minbari watched this video.
Tricodex90 10 months ago
@Tricodex90 hahaha
Rimasta1 9 months ago
I remember when I saw this as a teenager I would forever be a B5 fan. It was the high-water mark for "In the Beginning" and definitely a Top 10 moment for all of Babylon 5.
PaladinHero 10 months ago
Earth Minbari war, NEVER FORGET!
threeagainstfour 10 months ago 2
Long live Terra.
Meshakhad 10 months ago
I remember watching this when I was only 12 and now even at 26 every time I watch this scene it give me goosebumps...
sturtpot 10 months ago
You know, I think Londo might be biased. Because, in the Minbari war, Humanity had to keep fighting, because it was that or die. Surrender wasn't an option, the Minbari ignored Earth's attempts to surrender. So was humanity "magnificent", or just desperate?
notablegoat 10 months ago
@notablegoat It was "maginficent" in the same way that Thermopyle, The Alamo, Cameron, Rorke's Drift and all the othe heroic last stands were magnificent.
armynurseboy 10 months ago
@armynurseboy I get your drift. So in these cases, magnificence might be the same thing as desperate?
notablegoat 10 months ago
@notablegoat What Londo was admiring, and what admirable in the examples I noted was the tenacity and courage shown by the defenders. The odds were hopeless, but they didn't give up. While desperation may be a factor (as mentioned by the Mimbari) it is also that they were determined to go down fighting.
armynurseboy 10 months ago 2
@notablegoat
both.
Earthpatriot117 5 months ago
We are and have been. In a war, if we're fighting for something we absolutely beleive is right, we can be "magnificent". These days, however, things worth fighting for don't seem to crop up that often...
notablegoat 11 months ago
@notablegoat
there's fighting for each other, fighting for the person beside you.
Earthpatriot117 5 months ago
@Earthpatriot117 That's ture, you have a point. And that's essentially what the humans in this video are doing, fighting for each other. So really, I guess the logical conclusion from this is that fighting for each other is the only "magnificent" cause.
notablegoat 5 months ago
If only humans really were like that...
SuperboyConnerKent 11 months ago
Looks like one shadow just had to vote..........
jptang1701 11 months ago 4
maybe humanity's only virtue
EseRidaz 11 months ago
the ultimate virtue of humanity is courage
EseRidaz 11 months ago
@EseRidaz Perhaps it is, think of IDF. the Finnish army, and ofcourse Waffen SS
and this is just of the 20th century.
svartekaptenen 11 months ago
This scene happens in 'Out of the Darkness' (book 3 of the legions of fire trilogy) of which the young centauri woman is a significant character. If you want to know what happens after series 5 ends (which you should 'cause it's awesome) definately try and find them on ebay or something.
mws2 11 months ago
G'Kar said it best, "The history of war is the history of pain."
smcneal057 11 months ago
As the humans say if iam going down iam taking you down with me.
willobi 11 months ago 2
@theg0dfathers War goes by another name: Natural Selection. The weak and those that refuse to fight will be wiped out by the strong and those willing to fight.
BloodofPatriots 1 year ago
the destruction outside the window is from the drahh war which followed the shadow war
lordoftehsith 1 year ago
This is NOT from the Earth Minbari Wars but the Shadow Wars!
MrTerrificII 1 year ago
@MrTerrificII
Correction. The speech is obviously a tale of the past. Looking out the window, Londo sees the devastation the Shadows brought to Centari Prime which was devastated by the Shadow war.
MrTerrificII 1 year ago
@MrTerrificII Oh fuck, what the series before you comment next time. It IS about Londo looking BACK on the past, but the destruction is NOT from the Shadows, it's from the allies OF the Shadows (one of which is manipulating Londo) that have burnt Centauri Prime 20 odd years after the end of the Shadow War.
Varrenify 1 year ago 2
@Varrenify yes and in the end G'kar and Lono kill each other to end their misery!!
amarieoflothlorien 1 year ago
@Varrenify Technically speaking, those events are direct result of Shadow War.
Triarity 1 year ago
@Triarity Connected, yes, but but by itself, completely independent.
Varrenify 1 year ago
"They made the Minbari fight for every inch of space!" Moral of the story, DON'T FUCK WITH HUMANITY!!!!!! if we can't spill your own blood, we will drown you in ours!
PegasusViperTopGun62 1 year ago 15
@PegasusViperTopGun62 Terrifyingly they swan through and kept coming, while our personal courage was impressive you're missing the point-our extinction was certain.
angrydead 1 year ago
@PegasusViperTopGun62 And yet in the end it would not have been enough. We would have been wiped out save perhaps for a few struggling bands scattered across the stars.
singletona082 5 months ago
Humanity FUCK YEAH!
10thAngel 1 year ago 2
Comment removed
MorglumTheGranga 1 year ago
Peter Jurasik's delivery and the way it goes against the short montage is truly one of the seris' finest moments.
MorglumTheGranga 1 year ago 2
No movie has ever moved me to tears with awe. But this, this scene makes me tear up every time i watch it. It